


The Meeting

by RainbowSerenity



Series: Royal AU [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Modern Royalty, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 05:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12858186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowSerenity/pseuds/RainbowSerenity
Summary: Lightning's been discovered as a long-lost Princess of Eden. It's very weird, to say the least, but maybe her new personal bodyguard will make things less strange...





	The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> If you've been on the hoperai tag on tumblr in the past two years or so, you've probably seen these fics...I just figured it was time to post them here~
> 
> These are a bunch of oneshots that are part of a series. Each oneshot is supposed to be a stand-alone fic, but of course it'll make more sense if you read them all!

Lightning had lived in the kingdom of Eden for her entire life. Even so, she’d never given much thought to the royal family. Sometimes they’d catch her eye when she passed by a newsstand or caught a headline online, but it pretty much went one eye and out the other

At least, this was so…until the fateful day when she was told she was the heir to the throne.

“What,” Lightning replied in a flat voice, not even as a question. She was absolutely stunned. Serah was standing beside her with wide eyes, one hand moving to cover her mouth in shock.

“There’s been an epidemic,” a tall, dark-skinned man with kind eyes explained. He’d introduced himself as Sazh Katzroy earlier before dropping the bomb, and had apparently been working for the royal family for many years. “And we’re on our last legs here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no one else left to turn to.” Sazh sat up a bit straighter. “Your mother was our former king’s cousin’s sister once removed.”

Lightning narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t even - ”

“As it is,” Sazh interrupted loudly, waving a hand, probably sure that his explanation would make sense eventually. In another lifetime, maybe. “If your mother was still alive, she’d be next in line to be ruler. But since she’s passed on…” He gently clapped a hand on Lightning’s shoulder. “…It falls to you. You’re next in line for the throne.”

That was how twenty-one year-old orphan Lightning Farron, who worked sixty hours a week to make ends meet for herself and her younger sister, became princess of the kingdom Eden virtually overnight.

–

There was no time to get used to the shock of everything. Since Serah was the ‘spare,’ she was allowed to continue her life at the university as normal (though now she was employed with bodyguards, and of course often returned to the palace to see how her sister was faring). 

But not Lightning. Ohhh no. There were the etiquette lessons, the voice coaches, the lessons on how to deal with the public - and the stylists. For someone that preferred comfort and function over looks, the thought of wearing heels and dresses all the time was pretty much torture.

The worst, however, was when Sazh announced that she’d soon be meeting her personal bodyguard.

“Mr. Katzroy - ”

“Girl, seriously, call me Sazh.”

“…Sazh. That won’t be necessary.”

“Mhmmm.” He pretended to look extremely interested in the reason for this. Lightning had found he was exceptionally good at that. “And just why do you think that _you,_ the long-lost princess of Eden, soon to be queen - ”

“I wasn’t _lost,_ you just told me I was too far down the line!” 

“ - think that you don’t need a bodyguard?” he continued without pause. “Hmm? Who’s gonna protect you from the media and whatnot?”

She was already so _sick_ of the media and people speaking on her behalf. “Don’t you remember that before you made me do this, I worked in the Guardian Corps? I _know_ how to throw a punch. No one’s getting close to me if I can help it.” She arched a brow. “Besides, bodyguards didn’t help the rest of the royal family, did it?”

“…No,” Sazh was forced to admit. “No, I guess you’re right about that.” He continued before Lightning could smirk in victory, “But that’s no excuse for not having one! Don’t be ridiculous! Or reckless!”

“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll meet the guy. But I don’t want him tailing me everywhere.” 

“You’ll see. You’ll thank old Sazh for this.” Sazh nodded sagely. “Have Yeul escort you to the parlor. I’ll tell the guy to meet you there.”

“Fine,” she echoed in annoyance, though she didn’t ask the kind, quiet girl named Yeul to escort her anywhere. She didn’t need any of that. She was still _Lightning,_ royalty or not.

Then again, maybe it just hadn’t all sunk in yet, even after months of this.

Lightning made her way into the parlor with a heavy sigh, finding the room blessedly empty. It felt like people had followed her everywhere ever since the news - not only reporters, but palace staff and maids and who knew who else. She could barely keep track of everyone.

It was nice to have a moment to breathe.

It was short-lived, however, as the door slowly creaked open. Lightning immediately sat up a bit straighter, her legs crossed at the ankles as she’d been instructed to do a thousand times. 

Her eyebrows shot up at the guy who walked into the parlor. He pretty tall - but only a few inches taller than her, she estimated - with a lean build and a mess of silver hair. 

Was _this_ guy the bodyguard? That seemed kind of ridiculous. Weren’t bodyguards supposed to be huge and bulky and scary-looking? 

The guy’s bright green eyes caught sight of her and widened a bit. He looked about as surprised to see her as she was to see him. “Are you…?”

She nodded a little. “Are you the guy that’s supposed to be my bodyguard?”

“Uh - ” His face flushed a bit, but then he immediately composed himself and bowed at the waist. “Forgive my rudeness, You Highness. My name is Hope Estheim. I was indeed instructed to be your personal bodyguard.”

The way he said _personal_ sent a shiver down her spine, but Lightning simply waved her hand and shook it off. “No need for the formalities. And no matter what Sazh thinks, I don’t need a bodyguard.”

Now it was Hope’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t need to protect me.” She got to her feet. “I have years of training with the Corps. So thanks, but no thanks. I can handle this myself.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness? Sazh specifically told me to - ”

“What could _you_ do, anyway?” It must have been unbecoming for a princess to interrupt someone, because Hope’s mouth snapped shut in surprise. Lightning just kept going as she started to walk towards him. “You’re not exactly bodyguard material.”

“What I lack in strength, I make up for elsewhere.”

“‘Elsewhere’?” She stepped a bit closer. Now they were only inches apart, even though the parlor was a particularly large room. “Where, exactly?”

Too late she realized that her voice had gone from utter annoyance to a lower-pitched tone. Hope seemed to notice this and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes searched her face. 

She had to admit, they were very nice eyes. They looked intelligent - though looks weren’t everything - and utterly captivating. It was kind of disappointing that _he_ wasn’t this unexpected royal out of nowhere. He could bring any neighboring kingdom to its knees with those eyes.

“Well, I…”

“Tell me, Hope,” she murmured. Where the hell was this all coming from? She should just shove him aside and go hide in her room for awhile (after kicking her maids out, of course). She didn’t need a bodyguard at all. “What, exactly, are your credentials? I know Sazh recommended you, but that doesn’t really tell _me_ anything now, does it?”

Perhaps all of those lessons were finally coming in handy, just precisely for the wrong situation.

“I…” He swallowed visibly. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Academy, Your Highness? And the fal’cie that is twice as efficient as any natural one?”

“Yes.” She didn’t mention they’d been drilling that info into her head for weeks now.

“I created that fal’cie.”

Lightning blinked in surprise, completely unprepared to hear that. “You did?”

“Yes.”

“That’s…” she murmured, “…impressive.”

He smiled and nodded respectfully. “Thank you, Your Highness. It took years of work.”

“I bet.” She arched a brow. “I’m afraid, however, I don’t see how that makes you a capable bodyguard, as impressive as it is.”

Hope shrugged. “I was taught a lot of self-defense techniques. People were desperate to get their hands on my plans by any means necessary.”

“I see.” She took a few steps back as though that was the end of that conversation.

But then, quick as anything, Lightning spun on her heel, fist clenched as she went to throw a punch at, well, _lightning_ speed. 

She wasn’t sure what to expect - likely for her fist to connect with Hope’s jaw and send him to the floor, and probably inadvertently alert the entire palace that something was up. But to her shock, he instantly grabbed her wrist and pulled, _hard,_ using her surprise to spin her around. Her back smacked against his chest with a muffled thud, and she was glad for the position they were in since it hid her surprised expression.

For a long moment, the two of them stood there in silence, breaths caught in their throats. Hope was still holding onto her wrist, so his arm was basically around her. Lightning reached up to attempt to remove it, but instead, her fingertips simply hovered in midair, like she was trying to decide what to do.

She could practically _feel_ his heart pounding against her. Strands of his hair were tickling her temple in a pleasantly distracting manner. Lightning almost felt as though she could stay…right…here…

Hope abruptly let go over as though he could read her thoughts. His face was visibly red and he cleared his throat for a full minute. “Forgive my indiscretion, Your Highness.”

“It’s…” She turned to face him a little better, taking a deep breath. “It’s fine. At least I know you can deflect a punch.”

After a moment of hesitation, a small smile crept on his face. “I can do that and more. As I said, I was trained extensively in self-defense.”

“Maybe we should test that out somewhere more appropriate.” Lightning heard footsteps approaching and knew she wouldn’t have a moment alone with Hope for quite some time after this. “What do you say?”

Hope opened his mouth, though he was silent for a minute before replying. “I’d certainly like that, Your Highness.”

She smirked a bit in victory, going to leave and meet with whoever was coming to get her, but offered Hope one more unspoken promise over her shoulder before she left.

“Call me Light.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](http://rainbowserenity.tumblr.com)~


End file.
